The Davie County sheriff told WXII 12 News that his office has been investigating a case where a teen boy was using pictures of his young female classmates and manipulating them into sexually explicit images.On Thursday, Sheriff JD Hartman delivered the case to juvenile authorities for consideration for criminal charges. So far, nobody has been charged with a crime.The sheriff said the suspect in this case is 15 years old and that there are 25 victims in the county, most of whom were middle school girls. He said the probe started two to three months ago with a tip about someone downloading child pornography, but when they went to the home to execute a search warrant, they discovered the young man was using otherwise innocent pictures of girls and turning them into child pornography. WXII spoke with a Davie County woman who said the sheriff’s office told her that her daughter was one of the victims.”This has been extremely difficult because school was a safe place for them, and you don’t think anything will happen with one of your classmates. And the girls did absolutely nothing wrong. These were photos taken at sporting events and parties — your typical, everyday middle school or high school life. They’ve lost a sense of safety and security anywhere. It’s caused a sense of anxiety for parents and our kids that we didn’t know existed. We’d like to thank the sheriff’s office and Davie County Schools for working diligently to protect the girls,” she said. The sheriff told WXII, “We are continuing to investigate. The school authorities and parents have all been very cooperative. My staff has worked diligently to identify the victims and will work toward prosecuting this young man to the fullest extent of the law.”The victim’s mother says she has been told by investigators that they do not believe any of these manipulated images were shared. The sheriff said if you live in Davie County and his office has not contacted you yet, your daughter is not one of the girls involved.Watch: NOWCAST streaming newscastsNAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Watch NOWCAST TV | Local News | National | News We Love |Keep up with the latest news and weather by downloading the WXII app here
DAVIE COUNTY, N.C. —
The Davie County sheriff told WXII 12 News that his office has been investigating a case where a teen boy was using pictures of his young female classmates and manipulating them into sexually explicit images.
On Thursday, Sheriff JD Hartman delivered the case to juvenile authorities for consideration for criminal charges. So far, nobody has been charged with a crime.
The sheriff said the suspect in this case is 15 years old and that there are 25 victims in the county, most of whom were middle school girls. He said the probe started two to three months ago with a tip about someone downloading child pornography, but when they went to the home to execute a search warrant, they discovered the young man was using otherwise innocent pictures of girls and turning them into child pornography.
WXII spoke with a Davie County woman who said the sheriff’s office told her that her daughter was one of the victims.
“This has been extremely difficult because school was a safe place for them, and you don’t think anything will happen with one of your classmates. And the girls did absolutely nothing wrong. These were photos taken at sporting events and parties — your typical, everyday middle school or high school life. They’ve lost a sense of safety and security anywhere. It’s caused a sense of anxiety for parents and our kids that we didn’t know existed. We’d like to thank the sheriff’s office and Davie County Schools for working diligently to protect the girls,” she said.
The sheriff told WXII, “We are continuing to investigate. The school authorities and parents have all been very cooperative. My staff has worked diligently to identify the victims and will work toward prosecuting this young man to the fullest extent of the law.”
The victim’s mother says she has been told by investigators that they do not believe any of these manipulated images were shared. The sheriff said if you live in Davie County and his office has not contacted you yet, your daughter is not one of the girls involved.
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Keep up with the latest news and weather by downloading the WXII app here